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Big Happenings for Salt Lake and VSL!

As I trust you all know, we – along with Salt Lake County, Portman Holdings and Hyatt Hotels Corporation – announced the plans, timeline and details of the much-anticipated Salt Lake convention center hotel during a groundbreaking ceremony January 10 at the Salt Palace Convention Center.

The 700-room Hyatt Regency Salt Lake City is being built on the southeast corner of the lot on which the Salt Palace sits, adjacent to the convention center’s public space. The 25-floor property will offer 60,000-square feet of indoor meeting space, including a 23,138-square foot Regency Ballroom and a 14,682-square foot junior ballroom, as well as 7,400-square feet of outdoor event space. Estimated to cost $377 million, the project is scheduled to be completed and hosting our first guests in October 2022. The hotel will have a restaurant on the first floor, a lobby bar, another restaurant and fitness center on the sixth floor, adjacent to an outdoor amenity area that will include a pool and terrace for events and other activities.

On a parting note, I have thoroughly enjoyed my second term as Interim President & CEO and, very soon, we hope to announce to you our new President and CEO. Knowing each of the candidates in the running, I can assure you Visit Salt Lake will be in great hands, working hand-in-hand with our volunteer Board of Directors and our well-seasoned staff.

As always, thank you for your continued support of our efforts!

Cliff Doner
Interim President/CEO

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Visit Salt Lake has developed occupancy forecasting models by using STR Analytics daily hotel data. STR Analytics produces a ‘Daily Trend Report’ (DTR). The DTR is a report of hotels’ daily percentage occupancy, average daily rate, and resulting RevPAR. Visit Salt Lake has purchased a subscription to DTR for Salt Lake in two sets. One for total Salt Lake County (approx. 19,700 rooms), and the other for the Salt Lake County Convention District (“SLCD,” approx. 6,400 rooms). By simple interpolation, we derive the data set for Salt Lake hotels that are located outside the SLCD (approx. 13,300 rooms).

VSL has DTR information from January 1, 2012, to the present. Hotels in the SLCD are located in the downtown area, and 98% of their hotel reservation systems are directly linked to STR Analytics. This enables STR to produce its DTR with a high degree of accuracy and provides reliable insight into the effects of events in Salt Lake. Approximately 80% of the hotels inside Salt Lake County but outside of the SLCD link their reservation systems to STR Analytics. The other hotels participate in surveys conducted by STR.

The graph above shows hotel occupancy forecasts for April 2020. Occupancy forecasts are estimated by the number of convention attendees, day-of-week, seasonality, and location.

There are two graphs for each forecasted month:

• Hotel occupancy inside the SLCD
• Hotel occupancy outside the SLCD

The graphs also show historic year-over-year occupancy rates, convention dates, and claimed convention attendance.

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Moudi Sbeity & Laziz Kitchen
Salt of Earth: The People and Places of Salt Lake

Having immigrated to Salt Lake from Lebanon at age 18, Moudi Sbeity—co-owner of Laziz Kitchen, farmer’s market mainstay, muhammara master, and out-and-proud “hummus sexual”—is our most recent feature of Salt of the Earth: The People and Places of Salt Lake. Moudi went from making batches of hummus and muhammara for friends, to being a farmer’s market standard, to becoming a brick-and-motor restaurant success loved by everyone from Salt Lake’s LGBTQ tastemakers to the mayor Flavortown Guy Fieri (Guy famously called Moudi and Derek’s business a ‘pop and pop shop’) in just a handful of years.

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Salt Lake's Neighborhoods:
The Great Salt Lake

One of the best ways to experience The Great Salt Lake is to drive across a causeway to Antelope Island, the biggest island in the lake. There you can explore the stark beauty of Antelope Island State Park, with a trail system, picnic spots, and wildlife like buffalo and pronghorn sheep. Take advantage of the miles and miles of mountain biking and hiking trails that zig-zag their way across this exceptional landscape. At times, it feels like a journey to a parallel universe. Spend an entire day, pack a lunch, and hang out on the island's beaches if the bugs aren't out in force. And be sure to pack a camera—you'll want to stay out till sunset and capture the water and sun rays on the rocks and desert grass.

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Tip of the Month:
Coupons & Special Offers

Looking for a way to reach more visitors and convention attendees? As a VSL member, you can promote any discount, deal, or special offer on our website by adding coupon offers to your member profile at no additional cost.

Coupons appear on your listing and offer additional exposure and, best of all, we track how many views your coupon gets. Target convention attendees by creating a "Show Your Badge" coupon wherein if attendees have their convention badge, they get a discount or complimentary goodie of your choosing.

Also, don’t forget to add high quality images to take full advantage of your listing. Images should be 1800 x 675 and the Member Portal will automatically resize as needed. Once uploaded these images can be selected for the coupons you create.

Try for yourself and create a special Valentine’s offer or upcoming President’s Day deal. If you have any questions on how to publish a coupon or special offer, or adding photos, feel free to reach out to Miranda Maisto.

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Featured Member:
SLC Food
Walking Tour

Do you enjoy history? Are you interested in architecture? Do you love to try delicious food at local restaurants? Then new member SLC Food Walking Tour is custom made for you.

The SLC Food Walking Tour takes guests into the heart of downtown Salt Lake, where participants will get an understanding about the history of Salt Lake (including Church History, Tech and even the Old Red Light District) and its cultures while tasting farm-to-table freshness from some of Salt Lake’s best local and family owned restaurants.

Moe Egan and his team love Salt Lake and have a passion for food and culture, and their enthusiasm shines through on every step of this tasty tour. This walking tour will take you to 4 – 6 hand-picked eateries, with cuisine ranging from Italian to German to Indian and everything in between. While popular with visitors, the tour is also a great way for locals to discover new favorites and learn more about the history and architecture of our wonderful city. Private tours are also available – what a delicious idea for a birthday celebration or family event.

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National Plan for Vacation Day

January 28th was National Plan for Vacation Day and the U.S. Travel Association has provided a handy toolkit for your business to craft year-round strategies targeting more travelers.

DOWNLOAD YOUR TOOLKIT

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Meet Our New Members!

• Stoneground Kitchen
• Bewilder Brewing Company
• Soundwell
• 63 West Event Venue
• Willows Ski Retreat
• Good Grammar
• Garage on Beck

Upcoming Member Events:

• Ski it to Believe it at Snowbird
• Ski it to Believe it at Alta Ski Area
• Visit Salt Lake Member Training
• Visit Salt Lake Member Connection and Visitor Center Grand Re-Opening

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Upcoming Events

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